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INTRODUCTION
digital economy. However, a most common, albeit
somewhat narrow understanding is the internet-based
economy or the share of Gross domestic Product
(GDP) accounted for by the Information and Com-
munications Technology (ICT) sector. There exist
multiple definitions of a Digital Economy. The Euro-
pean Commission defines the digital economy as “an
economy based on digital technologies.” The World
Economic Forum and the Group of Twenty (G20) de-
fine the digital economy as “a broad range of econom-
ic activities comprising all jobs in the digital sector
as well as digital occupations in non-digital sectors”.
These include activities that use digitised informa-
tion and knowledge as the key factor of production;
modern information networks as an important activity
space; and ICT to drive productivity growth and opti-
mise economic structures.
This Blueprint relies on a much broader concept and
defines the Digital Economy as “the entirety of sec-
tors that operate using digitally-enabled communica-
tions and networks leveraging internet, mobile and
other technologies”. Digital technologies have been
deployed in different parts of national economies for
decades, notably in communications networks, but it
was the Internet and Internet Protocol (IP)-enabled
networks that created a universal platform to form the
foundation of the digital economy for all sectors. The
distinction between the internet economy and the dig-
ital economy (though the terms are often used inter-
changeably) rests on the difference in sectoral impact:
Internet economy “refers to the economic activities,
inputs, outputs and employment directly associated
with the use of the Internet.” Conversely, the digital
economy relies on enhanced interconnectivity of net-
works and the interoperability of digital platforms in
all sectors of the economy and society to offer con-
vergent services. For example, digital traffic can cross
between telecommunications and banking networks
as is the case in mobile financial payment applications
such as MPESA, Airtel Money, T-Kash and Equitel
Money that enable transfer of funds among customers
1 Bukht, Rumana/Heeks, Richard (2017): Defining, Conceptualising and Measuring the Digital Economy. Development Informatics
Working Paper Series No. 68. Manchester.
2 https://www.gsma.com/mobileeconomy/sub-saharan-africa/
and merchants using various mobile network service
providers and financial institutions, as well as the mo-
bile banking applications and Unstructured Supple-
mentary Service Data (USSD) offerings.
The important elements for which consensus has been
reached is that the core of the digital economy that is
domiciled in the ICT sector extends to the economic
output derived primarily from advancements in Inter-
net and digital technologies. This includes outfits with
a business model based on digital goods, services
and applications onto organisational and social pro-
cesses. The latter includes the platform economy, the
Gig and Sharing economies.
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In developing a Digital
Economy Blueprint, it is important for the ecosystem
to be broadly defined to cover all digitally-enabled
economic activities. The opportunities presented by
digital technologies are not constrained to technolo-
gy-based companies and start-ups, but can add value
across all parts of the economic terrain.
The foundation for public service delivery through
leveraging of ICT is where ICT use is deeply integrat-
ed into every operation of government. This leads to
more efficient and effective, “next-generation” gov-
ernment. Unfortunately, this is an area where African
governments are lagging behind. ICT penetration and
usage by many African governments is low.
Today, fast-evolving technologies have the potential
to transform the traditional way of transacting across
all functions and domains of government as well as
the ways in which ICTs offer governments an unprec-
edented opportunity to achieve sustainable develop-
ment and improve the well-being of their citizens.
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